The Queen Bee did not appear from a short burst of invention in the late 1930s. British work on remotely controlled aircraft reached back to ideas considered around the end of the First World War and to practical Fairey conversions begun in the late 1920s. That sustained effort explains why reliable radio links, pneumatic servos, and service procedures were available for the smaller target aircraft. Continued work might also have produced rocket-powered vehicles, missiles, and targeting systems from the same development lineage.
Notable Point · 21:05-22:34
Two decades of work stood behind the Queen Bee
Remote-control ideas dating from the end of the First World War matured through the Fairey Queens and Queen Bee toward possible missile and targeting systems.